Elina Born & Stig Rästa
Opposites attract... Elina is a temperamental small town girl who enjoys city life and would like to travel to Africa to pet giraffes. The even-tempered Stig would rather go to Antarctica. Unlike Elina, he grew up in the challenging side of the city. But today he would rather live in the countryside, where he can write music in peace.Three years ago Estonia's hottest songwriter Stig stumbled across a young girl's video on YouTube, where she was singing Christina Aguilera's song Cruz. It was Elina. "I was completely charmed by her musicality", remarks Stig.
Elina was at school when a message from the famous songwriter blipped into her inbox on Facebook. "To be honest, I started crying. It took me a couple of days to gather the courage to write back," Elina recalls.
The rest is history. 79% can't be wrong. That was the huge win that Estonian voters handed Goodbye to Yesterday. The same song that waited for years in Stig's drawer for just the right moment and just the right partner.
What else would you need to know about them?
What are the three most interesting aspects about your entry?
- Stig discovered Elina on YouTube.
- Stig himself rarely sings. Usually he just writes songs for other artists or for the band where he plays guitar.
- Goodbye to Yesterday is Stig's fifth attempt to get to Eurovision with a song he wrote himself. He has been runner-up twice before.
What are the three most impressive facts about you?
- 79% of the votes cast in Estonia were for this song. No other song in the history of the Estonian song contest has ever won by such a wide margin.
- Stig is the hottest songwriter in Estonia today. Last year's biggest hits were produced by his team. Also, Stig's production house is responsible for the managing and writing music for the Estonian Pop Idol finalists.
- Elina is also a surprisingly skillful rapper, though the public isn't really aware of it. Yet...
Do you have a (lucky) routine before you go on stage?
Elina needs a few minutes of complete silence before going on stage and Stig thinks about the first note.
Why is the Eurovision Song Contest important for you?
180 million viewers is a dream audience for every artist and a songwriter. We are extremely proud and happy to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.
